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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541555">The Miraculous Trip</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoosePax/pseuds/MoosePax'>MoosePax</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:21:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,605</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoosePax/pseuds/MoosePax</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette and Adrien are both leaving Paris behind for a week as their class takes a trip to Washington D.C. They soon realize that Ladybug and Chat Noir were not left behind as the other had thought. Adrien's a mess with feelings for two girls, and Marinette can hardly process her conflicting feelings for two boys. With identity reveals so close, will they be able to fully focus on what Hawkmoth has planned for them?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“WASHINGTON D.C????????” Marinette cried. Nope. Nope. Nope. That was wayyyyyyy too far away from Paris.</p>
<p><br/>“Marinette calm down. It’s just a school field trip for a week. Relax. You’ll be back in Paris in no time," her Dad said. A week? There could be an akuma attack a day. Paris would crumble if Ladybug wasn’t here for a week. Chat Noir could probably handle things though by himself, if it wasn’t for the akumas. He couldn’t catch them. He would have to trap them and wait for her. Marinette decided to talk to him tonight while they were on patrol.</p>
<p><br/>“Alright, I’ll go. But promise to tell me if anything bad happens while I’m gone.” Marinette told her parents.</p>
<p><br/>“Don’t worry honey, with Ladybug and Chat Noir here, what could happen?” her mom said, hugging her. Marinette’s stomach squirmed guiltily.</p>
<p><br/>That night Ladybug jumped out of Marinette’s room and swung her way across the rooftops of Paris. She looked in the dark for a certain feline. Finally, she spotted him sitting on the Eiffel Tower. He looked up happily when he saw her, his bright green eyes lighting up. She had been working with him for over two years now, as she was now in her junior year in high school, and her trust for him had only grown. As well as her feelings, but she wasn’t going to think about that right now.</p>
<p><br/>“M’lady. So nice of you to drop by.” He said, scooting over to make room for her. She sat down next to him and they watched over the bright lights of Paris.</p>
<p><br/>“Chat—”</p>
<p><br/>“Ladybug—” They both stopped and awkwardly stared at each other.</p>
<p><br/>“You first—” They said in unison. This time they laughed. Chat Noir gestured for Ladybug to continue.</p>
<p><br/>“Chat, so I have to tell you something.” Marinette said. Chat waited expectantly, his ears twitching nervously. “I’m going out of town for a couple of days.” She said. Chat’s jaw dropped.</p>
<p><br/>“N-no. So am I.” He said. Ladybug’s eyes widened.</p>
<p><br/>“Seriously? What days?” She asked frantically.</p>
<p><br/>“The 20-27.” He said.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh no, me too.” She said. If they hadn’t both been panicking at this point, they maybe would have found it strange how both of them were going for the exact same amount of time, and at the same time.</p>
<p><br/>“Can you stay?” Chat asked her.</p>
<p><br/>“No, I can’t, everything is already settled and everything. I only found out about it today, and I can’t back out of it. What about you?” Marinette said.</p>
<p><br/>“I can’t do anything about it either.” Chat sighed dejectedly.</p>
<p><br/>“What are we going to do?” Ladybug said frantically.</p>
<p><br/>“Nothing. We can’t do anything. Maybe Hawkmoth will just lay off for a week.” Chat said hopefully. Ladybug frowned.</p>
<p><br/>“Not likely. I just hope Paris doesn’t fall while we’re gone.”</p>
<p><br/>“Hey wait. What about Rena Rouge, and the others?” Chat said, perking up. Ladybug shook her head. Alya and Chloe were going on the same school trip that she was.</p>
<p><br/>“No, I know they can’t come. I don’t know about Carapace, but Al— I’m mean Rena Rouge and Chloe aren’t going to be here either.” Ladybug said. Chat looked helpless. He knew that Carapace, or Nino, his best friend, would be on the same trip that he was going on.</p>
<p><br/>“I guess all we can do is hope that Hawkmoth will just lay low for a week.” Chat said, “otherwise it would be a cat-astrophe.” Chat said, grinning. Ladybug smiled despite the bad situation.</p>
<p><br/>“Well, see you in one-week Chat.” She said, giving him a quick hug before sprinting off into the darkness. Chat was left standing there with a small smile on his face.</p>
<p><br/>“Yup, one week.” He whispered. He then turned in the opposite direction and ran back to the Agreste Mansion.</p>
<p>Marinette was a mess. She was late, tired, not packed, and stressed out about leaving Paris for a whole week. The van was supposed to be here in fifteen minutes to take her with all her classmates to the airport. She ran around the room throwing clothes in a bag.</p>
<p>“Marinette, I told you to pack earlier!” Tikki yelled at her in her tiny little voice.</p>
<p><br/>“I know. I was just so tired after patrol, and I fell asleep.” Marinette said. Tikki just rolled her eyes but dove into Marinette’s purse. With five minutes left she quickly got dressed, grabbed a waffle, and sprinted downstairs with all her stuff, just as the van arrived.</p>
<p><br/>“Bye mom, bye dad, I love you!” She hugged them quickly before running out to the bus and joining her class. She took a seat beside Alya and Nino.</p>
<p><br/>“Wow, girl, you’re not even late.” Alya said.</p>
<p><br/>“Ha-ha, yeah. I was really excited.” She said. Alya laughed.</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, so excited you put your shirt on inside out.” She said. Marinette blushed and hurriedly fixed it before Adrien got on. They pulled up in front of his mansion and he came running out. Even though Marinette had been good friends with Adrien for the past two years, she still was hopelessly in love with him. The only thing she had managed to get better at was talking to him, but she still stuttered sometimes. All the girls sighed as they watched out the window as Adrien ran towards the van, his hair bouncing and clothes fluttering in the wind. He looked just like he did in the commercials and magazines, but better. But Marinette didn’t like him because he was a model though, or because he was rich, but because he was kind, and such a good friend. Adrien got on, having to bend very low in order to fit into the van. Over the years he had grown very tall and had become much leaner and more muscular. Marinette always thought that he could look no better, but then she was always proven wrong. Adrien smiled and slid in beside her in the same row as Alya and Nino. Marinette could feel rather than see Chloe and Lila fuming in the back seat, as Marinette got to sit next to Adrien Agreste for the entire ride to the bus. Though Chloe had become a lot nicer over the years and Marinette would even go as far to call her a friend, she was still very protective of “her” Adrikins. It was more Lila who Marinette was worried about. She was really the evil one. She had been akumatized more times than Marinette could even count.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey Marinette, Alya, Nino, how’s it going?” Adrien said, smiling brightly. He looked happier than he had in days, but there was some sort of twitchiness about him.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey dude, what’s up. You look happy.” Nino said, doing some weird handshake thing with Adrien. Alya rolled her eyes and shook her head. Boys she mouthed at Marinette. She giggled.</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, I’m just really excited to go to Washington D.C. I’ve never been.” He said. While they were talking Marinette noticed something weird about Adrien. He seemed really…anxious? He was tapping his foot nervously and kept glancing out of the windows.</p>
<p><br/>“Adrien, are you okay?” Marinette blurted out. He looked at her surprised and stopped tapping his foot.</p>
<p><br/>“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” He said, forcing a smile, “why?”</p>
<p><br/>“You just seem a little…stressed?” She said. Adrien opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, Adrien. What are you doing up there? You can come sit in the back with me.” Lila said, getting really close to Adrien. Adrien backed up and laughed nervously.</p>
<p><br/>“Hi Lila.” He said. She smiled in what Marinette could tell was supposed to be a sweet smile. To Marinette it just looked evil and rather scary. Adrien also seemed to think along the same lines and scooched closer to Marinette. The movement didn’t escape Lila’s notice. She pouted and started to fake cry. Marinette stared at her in disbelief.</p>
<p><br/>“Lila, get a grip.” Marinette said, before she could stop herself. The van went dead silence. Adrien was the first to laugh, then everyone joined in. Marinette found herself blushing but smiling all the same. Lila glared at her but returned to her seat. Marinette didn’t need eyes in the back of her head to know that Lila was still glaring at her.</p>
<p><br/>“That was great, thank you.” Adrien whispered to Marinette. Lila could have blown up the van and Marinette probably wouldn’t have noticed. She didn’t notice the little black butterfly either.</p>
<p>They arrived at the airport and an hour later they were waiting by the gate.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey, I’m hungry. We have about half an hour until the plane boards, so anyone want to come get bagels with me?” Adrien asked, standing up. He quickly realized his mistake as almost everyone jumped up and said me. Though Marinette really wanted to go with him, she wasn’t going to be one of those silly girls and jump around like an idiot. She looked up and met Adrien’s eyes and almost laughed as she noticed how desperate he was for help. She got up and walked around the crowd and took Adrien’s arm.</p>
<p><br/>“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Lila said, stepping in front of her. Marinette was at a loss for words. Her earlier confidence seemed to have faded just as quickly as it had come. Luckily, Adrien was there to save the day.</p>
<p><br/>“Well, we’re getting bagels. Without you.” Adrien said, this time grabbing Marinette’s hand and pulling her around a fuming Lila. Marinette looked at him gratefully.</p>
<p><br/>“Thanks,” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“What are friends for?” he replied. Marinette’s heart sank a little, but she told herself she was being silly. She should be happy enough to have Adrien as a friend and shouldn’t wish for more. It was then that they both seemed to notice that they were still holding hands and dropped them quickly. They looked for some bagels in silence, the awkwardness building between them.</p>
<p><br/>“Are you excited to go to Washington D.C?” Adrien said after a while as they waited in line at a breakfast place.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, um, yeah. I’m excited to see the different kinds of fashion they have there,” she said. Adrien smiled.</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, America is really different.”</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, right. You’ve been to America before, haven't you?” Marinette said. Adrien nodded.</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, I’ve been to New York a couple of times for a modeling thing,” he told her. Marinette nodded, but didn’t really have anything else to say. Thankfully it was their time to order. Adrien was about to say something to the lady at the register, but she screamed before he could speak. Adrien stared at her.</p>
<p><br/>“A-are you okay?” he asked, in a very concerned voice.</p>
<p><br/>“Y-you’re A-adrien Agreste,” she said breathlessly. Everyone around had looked towards the girl when she had screamed, and all of them had heard her say that Adrien Agreste, the famous model and son of the most famous fashion designer in Paris, was standing in line at the bagel shop. Naturally, there was a mob.</p>
<p>“Oh no,” Adrien whispered. He grabbed Marinette’s hand and they ran. Marinette wasn’t too concerned about the mob of people chasing them, as she had more important things to worry about. Such as the fact that Adrien was holding her hand. She hadn’t really noticed last time, as she was worried about what to say to Lila, but now she definitely noticed. Adrien pulled her along and she willed herself to stop acting like such a klutz as she knocked over a trashcan, and start being the Ladybug who she was. Suddenly their progress progressed much faster. Adrien and Marinette ran around the corner just as the plane was boarding. Alya and Nino were still waiting for them by the gate, and their jaws dropped as they came into view.</p>
<p><br/>“…What…?” Alya said as they ran towards them. Nino just stared at them.</p>
<p><br/>“Go, go, go!” Adrien yelled as the mob of people stared to gain on them. Alya and Nino rushed onto the plane, and Adrien and Marinette followed, hurriedly handing their tickets to the lady. They collapsed against the wall inside of the boarding tunnel, gasping for breath.</p>
<p><br/>“What the hell?” Nino asked, finally regaining his speech.</p>
<p><br/>“Girl—screamed—I was—here—people—chasing—us.” Adrien gasped out, clutching his side. Marinette was panting next to him. Their walk to the find the bagels had been very long. Alya and Nino shook their heads and laughed.</p>
<p><br/>“Only you, Agreste,” Alya said, laughing. She and Nino left them to find their seats on the plane.</p>
<p><br/>“Marinette, I’m sorry I had to make you go through that,” Adrien said once they had regained their breath. He looked at her intensely with his deep green eyes, quite obviously sorry and slightly mortified.</p>
<p><br/>“It’s f-fine,” she said, hoping that he would think her stutter was from being out of breath. They headed onto the plane after Alya and Nino to find their seats. Marinette smiled happily as she kept reliving her run with Adrien. He had held her hand the whole way back to the plane. What could be better? She found her seat and sat down, suddenly realizing that Alya was not sitting next to her like they had planned. She looked across the row and saw her sitting with Nino. Adrien was talking to her and he looked slightly miffed. Marinette got up to see what was going on.</p>
<p><br/>“Alya, I thought you were sitting with me,” she said, standing in the row. Alya shook her head. She was evidently sitting in Adrien’s seat.</p>
<p><br/>“Watching that awful Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir movie was not part of our deal,” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“But you love Ladybug.” Marinette said astounded.</p>
<p><br/>“And Chat Noir,” Adrien added. Both of them looked at her like she was crazy. Alya had the biggest blog in Paris completely dedicated to the superheroes, and for her to not only refuse to watch a movie concerning her two favorite heroes, but to blatantly say she didn’t like it was absurd.</p>
<p><br/>“Of course I love them, but I’ve seen that movie a thousand times. It’s not even about them but about who they could be. It’s so obviously wrong and the facts don’t line up that it’s so frustrating I could wring the producer’s neck. Honestly, I don’t get why you think it’s so funny. It just tells about what their lives as people might be like,” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“It’s hilarious.” Marinette said, laughing at the thought of it.</p>
<p><br/>“What movie is it?” Adrien asked.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, um, i-it’s called Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir, inside their loves, uh lives! Lives. Inside their lives,” she said. Adrien’s eyes brightened.</p>
<p><br/>“I love that movie! It’s one of my favorites. It’s so funny,” he said. Alya smiled and wiggled her eyebrows at Marinette when Adrien wasn’t looking.</p>
<p><br/>“See, there you go. You two can go watch the movie that no one else finds funny, and I will sit here with my boyfriend,” she told them. Adrien shrugged and sat down in Alya’s original seat, which left Marinette the only person who saw Alya wink at her. As Marinette headed back to her seat, she knew that the real reason that Alya had chosen to sit with Nino was not because of the movie, but because she was trying to help out Marinette by letting her sit with Adrien. And for that she was secretly grateful.</p>
<p>“So, why do you think this movie is so funny?” Marinette said, pulling the movie up on her laptop. She was mentally screaming with joy at the thought of sitting next to Adrien for eight hours. Eight whole hours. Much, much better than holding hands for ten minutes. Or was it? Marinette couldn’t decide. Either way she was extremely happy.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, because it’s so ridiculous. I mean who could possibly believe that Chat Noir actually looks like that under the mask? And who would ever think that he worked at a bookstore. It’s so random,” he said laughing. Marinette didn’t really see that as being too weird, but as she felt the same way about Ladybug in the movie, she didn’t say anything about it.</p>
<p><br/>“Ha-ha yeah, I think the actress who plays Ladybug in the movie is totally off. I mean Ladybug obviously doesn’t have blond hair,” Marinette said. Adrien blinked a couple of times. Little did Marinette know that Adrien’s mind had just been blown. She was right. Ladybug really didn’t have blond hair. He could eliminate so many girls from his list of suspects. They watched the movie, each of them laughing at the whole thing, finding it absolutely hilarious that anyone would ever think that their alter egos actually knew each other in real life.</p>
<p><br/>“It’s like a love square,” Marinette laughed.</p>
<p><br/>“I know, I mean can you believe that Chat Noir likes Ladybug, but her alter ego likes his alter ego? I mean come on, that’s so not true, no one could be that lucky,” he said laughing, and she eagerly agreed.</p>
<p><br/>The plane landed eight hours later, and Marinette found herself being shaken awake. She opened her eyes and found her head resting on Adrien’s shoulder, and his head resting on top of hers. They had somehow fallen asleep like this. Alya and Nino were smirking as they woke them up.</p>
<p><br/>“Come on love birds, we landed,” she said smugly as she looked at the two of them. Marinette knew that she was extremely proud that her plan had worked. Adrien sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.</p>
<p><br/>“I’m a-a-awake,” he said yawning.</p>
<p><br/>“Let’s go man,” Nino said, grabbing him and taking him out of the plane. Alya helped Marinette up and she smiled and smirked at her the whole way to baggage claim.<br/>“Alya,” Marinette groaned. She looked at her innocently.</p>
<p><br/>“What?” she said laughing.</p>
<p><br/>“Stop looking at me like that. Nothing happened. Your plan failed. Eight hours wasted,” Marinette sighed. Alya stopped and faced Marinette.</p>
<p><br/>“Girl, please. You didn’t see what I was looking at the whole damn time on the plan. You guys were like cuddling. You were holding hands and your heads were on each other’s shoulders. Don’t tell me my plan didn’t work. It worked better than I had hoped for,” she said. Marinette was dumbstruck. If only she could actually remember all of that. Nino had apparently told Adrien the way they had been sleeping because when their eyes met, they both blushed and looked away. Marinette silently cursed Alya. Her plan may have worked out too well. They all grabbed their bags and headed into a rental van to take to their hotel. They were staying at the Marriot, and had booked six rooms, two girls in each of the three of them, and two boys in each of the other three. Marinette collapsed on her big bed as soon as she got into the room, and Alya did the same on the other bed. Madame Bustier was allowing them the remainder of this day and all of the next day to adjust to the time difference. Marinette fell asleep right away, as did Alya. Little did she know how much she would need that sleep for the week ahead.</p>
<p>Marinette woke up around 10:00 at night, feeling pretty much wide awake. Everyone else was asleep as most of them didn’t sleep on the plane. Suddenly she had an idea. No one was awake. No one would know. If she was careful…Marinette opened up the window.</p>
<p><br/>“Marinette! What are you doing?” Tikki whispered as she flew out of Marinette’s purse.</p>
<p><br/>“Come on, Tikki. No one’s awake, so no one will see. Besides, Americans probably don’t even know who I am. I just want some air, that’s all. I feel more comfortable as Ladybug,” Marinette said. Tikki sighed but shrugged. Marinette made sure Alya was completely asleep before she transformed. She swung onto the roof, and sat there, looking out at the traffic and people walking by. No one noticed her, just like she had known they wouldn’t. As she looked out across the city, she realized that she was actually missing that silly cat. She couldn’t believe it was going to be six whole days until she saw him again. Suddenly she heard a noise. Ladybug bent low on the roof so that no one would be able to see her, and she watched as a figure emerged onto the other side of the roof. She couldn’t see who it was, but she knew whoever they were wasn’t dangerous. She didn’t know how or why, but she felt a strange connection to him. She was about to head back inside for risk of revealing herself, when she heard three words that turned her world upside down.</p>
<p><br/>“Plagg, claws out.” Ladybug whipped around and saw a greenish light develop around the boy on the other side of the roof. As she watched she realized that she was now in full view of him. He turned to face her and they both nearly fell off the roof in shock. Chat Noir and Ladybug stared at each other in disbelief.</p>
<p><br/>“…M’lady?” he whispered, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.</p>
<p><br/>“Chat? What are you doing here?” Ladybug hissed out. She was absolutely back in panic mode. Chat ran forward and wrapped her in a hug. Ladybug was surprised but hugged him back. She didn’t realize exactly how much he really meant to her, and what it was like to be apart from him until she actually was.</p>
<p><br/>“What are you doing here?” Chat asked her after breaking away.</p>
<p><br/>“I’m on a field trip here,” she said. Chat’s eyes lit up and he gasped.</p>
<p><br/>“Me too. And I’m staying right here,” he said, and then paled as he realized what he just let slip. They both seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time, and just as Chat’s face could look no happier, Ladybug’s was the exact opposite.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh no. So, we go to the same school. We’re in the same class,” Ladybug said, sinking down with her head in her hands. Chat nodded happily sitting down beside her. She looked up at him and frowned at his ecstatic face.</p>
<p><br/>“No, this is bad; can’t you see that? We’re so close to knowing each other’s identities,” Ladybug said. Chat’s ears drooped a little, but then they perked back up.<br/>“And what’s so wrong with that?” he asked.</p>
<p><br/>“If we knew who we both were under the mask, it could cause problems with us as superheroes. We would let that distract us. We need to focus on our jobs, not on each other. And besides, Hawkmoth could use that against us,” Ladybug said. Chat’s ears dropped completely.</p>
<p><br/>“I guess,” he said, looking out over the bright city that was so unlike their own.</p>
<p><br/>“What’s wrong?” she asked.</p>
<p><br/>“It’s just that we’ve known each other for so long. We’ve been through so much together. I just don’t see how knowing our identities could really affect us that much,” he said.</p>
<p><br/>“I know,” she paused, “I…don’t like it either. I sort of think you’re right, and everything I say is me just trying to understand. It’s what Master Fu told us to do. I would never break my promise to him.” Chat glanced up.</p>
<p><br/>“You do know that now since I know we’re in the same class I’m not going to rest until I figure out who you are,” he said.<br/>“I figured.”</p>
<p><br/>“What happens if I do figure it out?” he said.</p>
<p><br/>“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” she told him exasperatedly.</p>
<p><br/>“Aren’t you curious about who I am?” he said. Ladybug looked at him. She was so, so curious. Could he be Ivan? Or Kim? She had no idea. But as much as she wanted to know, she would rather not.<br/>“I am. But I’m not going to look for you, and I don’t think you should look for me either. The time will come when we both need to, but that time is not right now. Until then I think we should just let it go,” Ladybug said.</p>
<p><br/>“I don’t think I can,” Chat said, looking away, “You do know that curiosity killed the cat.” Ladybug smiled slightly.</p>
<p><br/>“You have to try, Chat. This is really important. Just don—” She stopped. Chat’s ears suddenly froze. Ladybug leaned forward and looked out towards the city. Everything was quiet. But she could’ve sworn she heard a noise. They waited for several minutes in silence, listening for any sounds. Ladybug then shrugged and decided that it must have been a bird or something. But she couldn’t shake off the feeling that it wasn’t just a bird.</p>
<p><br/>“Well, I’ll see you Chat,” Ladybug said.</p>
<p><br/>“You know that I’ll see which room you go into,” he said.</p>
<p><br/>“No, you won’t, because you’re going to leave first, and I’m not going to look,” she said. Chat frowned but then smiled.</p>
<p><br/>“I can’t wait to find out who you are,” he said. Ladybug just shrugged and turned away from him. She heard him jump down from the roof, and when she looked back, he was gone. She swung into her room and de-transformed, suddenly feeling exhausted and full of worry about who Chat Noir could possibly be, and if he would be disappointed that she was Ladybug. While Marinette and Adrien slept, neither of them were on the roof to see a figure burst out of the window and spread their purple wings.</p>
<p><br/>“No Ladybug and Chat Noir here to stop me this time,” Lila said cackling, before taking off towards the heart of the city.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette woke early in the morning, around six. In order to stop herself from obsessing over who Chat could be, she decided to get some food. Everyone else was sleeping, so Marinette headed to the café to wait around for Alya before they went out to go shopping (as was their plan). Marinette was very surprised to see that Adrien was already sitting there, staring into space over the lid of his coffee. He didn’t see as Marinette came and sat down in the chair across from him, until she started waving a hand in front of his face.</p>
<p><br/>“Mari, hi! Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he said. She smiled nervously.</p>
<p><br/>“What were you thinking about?” She asked, looking at the menu.</p>
<p><br/>“Uh, just stuff. Um, what’re you going to do today?” he asked, dodging her question. Marinette didn’t notice.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, I’m going shopping with Alya. You’re welcome to come with Nino if you want,” she said, imaging all sorts of scenes in her head of them shopping (all of them included her and Adrien being together). Adrien tried and failed to look interested. Marinette tried to not let him know how much her feeling were hurt, but he seemed to know anyways.</p>
<p><br/>“Don’t worry Marinette, it’s not you. It’s just shopping really isn’t my thing, and I doubt it’s Nino’s either,” Adrien said laughing. Marinette laughed a little, too.</p>
<p><br/>“How about we meet you and Alya for lunch?” he asked. Marinette instantly perked up, though she tried to down play it.</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, that would be so amaz—uh, great. That would be great,” Marinette said. Adrien smiled happily. Marinette ordered a coffee and a pastry, and they waited in comfortable silence.</p>
<p><br/>“So, how did you sleep? The jet lag is awful right?” Adrien asked. Marinette nodded.</p>
<p><br/>“It is, but since I slept on the plane, I’m probably doing better than most people.”</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, same. I couldn’t sleep much last night,” he said.</p>
<p><br/>“Me too, I—<em>what</em>?” Marinette gasped. Adrien looked over his shoulder to see what she was looking at. There was a TV behind him. Displayed on the screen were images flashing by of the partial destruction of the Washington Monument. Written on the side of the monument were the words ‘I’ll be back’. It sent shivers down both of their spines. There were images taken from pedestrians of a purple winged creature shooting the building with a purple liquid. Wherever the liquid touched, parts of the Monument disappeared. The creature turned towards the camera and for a second the viewers could see a girl with straight purple hair down to her waist, and a large sequined purple mask covering her face. She looked like a huge, scary, purple butterfly. She then dove at the camera and the video went black. Marinette and Adrien watched until the news switched over to a commercial. They then turned to face each other, wearing the same expressions of their faces. Complete disbelief.</p>
<p><br/>“That was—”</p>
<p>“An akumatized victim.” Adrien finished. Marinette gulped and nodded.</p>
<p><br/>“I have to go,” they both said in unison. Marinette turned and ran in the opposite direction of him, running up the stairs to her room. She had foolishly left Tikki upstairs. She should have kept her with her at all times. She wrenched open her room only to find that Alya was awake, so she would not be able to transform.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey girl, sorry I just woke up,” she said, stretching.</p>
<p><br/>“Alya, turn on the TV!” Marinette said, throwing her the remote. Though she didn’t want to tell her about the incident, she really needed to get Alya distracted so she could transform. Alya looked at her confused but did as she was told. She gasped.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh my gosh. That’s because of an akuma. How is that possible? WAIT. AKUMAS = LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR.” Suddenly Alya screamed. Marinette looked towards the tv and saw Chat Noir standing on top of the half-ruined Washington Monument. People below were yelling and pointing at him, obviously knowing who he was.</p>
<p><br/>“Huh. Americans do know who he is,” Marinette said.</p>
<p><br/>“Duh. Of course. Ladybug and Chat Noir are some of the only superheroes on the planet, everyone knows who they are,” Alya said, moving closer to the TV to watch Chat Noir looking around for someone.</p>
<p><br/>“Where’s Ladybug?” she asked, “and why are they here?”</p>
<p><br/>“Uh, maybe, they followed Hawkmoth to America, and are trying to protect the people,” Ladybug said. Alya slowly nodded her head.</p>
<p><br/>“Right,” she said standing up rapidly.</p>
<p><br/>“What’re you doing?” Marinette asked, confused.</p>
<p><br/>“Duh. Ladyblog,” she said before running out the door. Marinette waited five seconds before transforming and climbing out of the window. Chat Noir wouldn’t be alone for long.</p>
<p>Ladybug swung over the roof tops of buildings and made her way to the Monument. She was not at all familiar with Washington D.C, so she really had no idea where she was going. Finally, she found it, and on top of it was a black cat.</p>
<p><br/>“Nice of you to drop by, M’lady. I was beginning to paws-itively miss you,” Chat said. Ladybug blushed. Wait. What? Ladybug blushed? At CHAT???? What on earth? Ladybug immediately turned her face away, hoping Chat hadn’t seen her face. But the look of utter disbelief and completely renewed self-confidence and pride on his face told her that yes, he had seen her now very red face.</p>
<p><br/>“Cat got your tongue?” he said slyly. Ladybug punched him in the arm and stood up.</p>
<p><br/>“MeOWCH! That hurt. If you don’t like my puns you can just tell me, not punch me,” he said indignantly, standing up too.</p>
<p><br/>“Who do you think did this?” Ladybug asked him, ignoring his outburst.</p>
<p><br/>“An Akuma,” he said. Ladybug struggled not to roll her eyes.</p>
<p><br/>“Yes, but how is the question. I mean why would Hawkmoth come to America just as we did?” She asked.</p>
<p><br/>“What if he’s in our class? You don’t think…he knows, right. Like, knows who we are under the mask?” he said. Ladybug’s stomach dropped unpleasantly.</p>
<p><br/>“No. I don’t think so. If he did then why wouldn’t he just attack us directly, and not some random citizens? And I don’t think he’s our age. I think he’s an adult,” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“That’s true,” he said, and they paused for a moment and looked out over the helicopters and throngs of people gathering near them, “Hey, wait, I have an idea.” Ladybug looked at him.</p>
<p><br/>“Look, here’s a picture of the akumatized victim. If we can find out who they are, then we can go backwards and figure out how Hawkmoth is here. I mean we still have to stop the butterfly thing, but maybe we can kill two birds with one cat,” he said. Ladybug looked at him in disbelief. He raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p><br/>“You don’t have to act so surprised that I’m so smart,” he said teasingly. Ladybug rolled her eyes but wrapped him in a hug, and then quickly stepped away from him. What was happening to her? It wasn’t like she hadn’t ever hugged Chat before, it was just that now it felt…different. She looked at him with wide eyes, his own reflecting her confusion. She stared into his huge green eyes, wondering who on earth he could be behind the mask. Would he be disappointed in her? And…had his eyes always been so pretty, so…mesmerizing? She blinked a couple of times, stepping back a little.</p>
<p><br/>“I’ll—I’ll see you around Chat,” she said, hurriedly swinging away. Chat stared open mouthed after her, completely at a loss of what had just happened. He also felt just a tiny bit hopeful. Could he be possible that she liked him? No, it couldn’t happen that quickly. Unless…maybe it hadn’t happened so quickly. Chat smiled to himself and swung back towards the hotel. He needed some advice, and he knew just who to talk to. He had a princess to see.</p>
<p><br/>“Tikki. This is bad. This is very bad,” Marinette said, sinking to the bathroom floor.</p>
<p><br/>“What, that you like Chat Noir?” she asked her. Marinette groaned.</p>
<p><br/>“I don’t know, maybe? No, I don’t. Wait, do I? Ugh, I don’t know,” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“Well, why would it change all of a sudden? I mean didn’t you not like him the other day?” She asked. Marinette shook her head.</p>
<p><br/>“No, I’ve liked him for a long time. Since like last year. But I didn’t realize it until yesterday. I saw him on the roof, and I just realized how much I had missed him, and how much I really needed him to be complete. I mean I know I like Adrien but—but I really don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with that,” Marinette said, starting to tear up. She was finally admitting it to herself. She was going to have to let go of Adrien. Unbeknownst to Marinette, Tikki was having a mental combustion, knowing that Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person.<br/>“Um, Marinette. You don’t have to stop liking one to like the other. I mean it is possible to like two people at the same time. And don’t you love Adrien? You can’t just let go of someone that easily,” Tikki said. Marinette wiped her eyes and looked at her.</p>
<p><br/>“You sure?” she said. Tikki nodded, taking a deep breath of relief. Her ship could still sail. Suddenly someone knocked on her door.</p>
<p><br/>“Marinette, you in there? Are you ready to go shopping? Wait, who are you talking to?” Alya said from outside.</p>
<p><br/>“Tikki, hide,” Marinette hissed at her. The kwami flew into her purse.</p>
<p><br/>“Um, myself,” Marinette called out to Alya. She could here Alya mutter something that sounded like ‘of course.’</p>
<p><br/>“Well, could you come out here please, I have something extremely important to show you.” She said, sounded very excited. Marinette came out slowly, thinking she knew exactly what Alya was about to show her. Alya pulled out her phone, just as there came a knock on the window. They both looked towards it, and they both screamed. Alya especially. Alya rushed over and opened the window, letting Chat Noir in. He climbed in but then froze when he realized that Alya was there.</p>
<p><br/>“Chat Noir, perfect!” Alya said, jumping up and down in excitement and pulling out her phone, “Tell me, why are you here in America, is Hawkmoth here too? Are more people than just Parisians at risk? Did you and Ladybug come here together?” she said, Chat blinking in confusion and with slight anxiety. He answered with some noncommittal grunt and looked over at Marinette for help. She had forgotten to seem surprised by his appearance and was internally freaking out, thinking that he had found out that she was Ladybug. He cocked his head at her, also probably confused why she wasn’t as excited as Alya.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh my gosh, it’s Chat Noir,” she tried, feigning enthusiasm and surprise, her heart going a million miles an hour. It was good enough for Chat Noir and his mega-sized ego. He leaned against the wall, his hair flopping over his face.</p>
<p><br/>“Yeah, it’s been a little crazy lately, but I can’t go and spoil everything, you know how it is, superhero stuff,” he said, winking at them, to which Marinette had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. He strutted over to them, giving them a glowing smile, to which Marinette had to restrain herself from blushing. What? “So, how’s it going ladies? Thought I’d just drop by and see some familiar faces. This cat gets lonely in new places.” Marinette was pretty sure that was not why he had come.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, this is so perfect!” Alya said.</p>
<p><br/>“I know I am,” he said. Marinette tried to roll her eyes but could feel her cheeks heating up. She hurriedly looked away from him. This couldn’t happen again.</p>
<p><br/>“Okay, everyone look at this,” Alya said, pulling up a video on her phone. Marinette’s heart dropped. She had a video of Chat Noir and Ladybug standing on top of what was left of the Washington Monument. In the video it looked like Ladybug and Chat Noir were about to kiss. But then Ladybug stepped back and a couple of minutes later swung away. Alya squealed in excitement. Chat Noir looked confused, and Marinette was frozen.</p>
<p><br/>“Did you guys see that? I think that Ladybug is finally in love with Chat! It’s amazing!” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“Alya, if she was in love with me then maybe she would have kissed me,” Chat said, his ears drooping. It was no secret that Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. Pretty much the whole world knew. And now the whole world thought that Ladybug was in love with Chat Noir. Which she wasn’t…right?</p>
<p>Alya finally got the hint that maybe the reason that Chat Noir was there was to see Marinette, so she left the room. She told Marinette that she was going to go on ahead with Nino and that she and Adrien could meet them at the restaurant before shopping. Marinette was very grateful for Alya’s schemes. On Alya’s way out she shot a look at Marinette that clearly read “tell me everything or so help me I will find out one way or another and then you will die.” Marinette chose not to respond. Marinette turned back to look at Chat and was startled to see him sitting on the floor looking very dejected and sad like a lost puppy. And Marinette was sure that Chat did not want to be compared to a dog. She sat down next to him. Over the years the relationship between Marinette and Chat had grown and they were now very good friends. But hardly anyone knew that.</p>
<p><br/>“Chat, what’s wrong.” Marinette was pretty sure she knew what was wrong.</p>
<p><br/>“It’s Ladybug. She doesn’t love me now and she never will. I think I’m going to have to let her go,” he said. Marinette stomach dropped. But she couldn’t tell him. But she couldn’t see him like this either.</p>
<p><br/>“NO! I mean no. You don’t have to let her go. Maybe she’s just unsure about what her feelings are right now and is a little scared. Maybe she does really like you but just needs some time to figure out what to do,” Marinette said.</p>
<p><br/>“But I’ve waited so long. I don’t know if I can wait any longer,” he said.</p>
<p><br/>“I’ve waited for someone for a very long time too, but I’m not giving up on them yet.” she said, thinking of Adrien and Tikki’s words.</p>
<p><br/>“Really? Who?” Chat said. He knew that Marinette liked someone, but even after all these years he didn’t know who. And he really wanted to know. Why? He wasn’t sure. Maybe Ladybug wasn’t the only one with mixed feelings.</p>
<p><br/>“We’ve gone over this Chat, I can’t tell you,” Marinette said. Chat’s ears drooped some more.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, don’t be like that. I can’t tell you because I don’t want you to say anything to him,” she said.</p>
<p><br/>“But Marinette, I could help you,” he said. Marinette shook her head.</p>
<p><br/>“No, you need to focus on not letting go of Ladybug, and I’ll take care of Adr—um, of the guy I like,” she said. Chat’s ears perked up. They both knew that she had just slipped up. But Chat still had no idea who it could be. No guy he knew started with those letters. Luka didn’t start with Adr. Chat was very pleased with that thought. Luka. Chat growled a little at the thought of him. He hated Luka. Why? He wasn’t too sure. But he just knew he didn’t like him. Marinette got up to open the window.</p>
<p><br/>“Kicking me out already, Purr-incess?” he said, standing very close to her. Marinette’s breathing hitched up a notch as she stared at him.</p>
<p><br/>“N-no. I’m just meeting some friends for lunch, that’s all,” she said. Chat blinked himself out of her gaze. She was far too pretty for her own good. Whatever guy was lucky enough to be liked by her had to be the stupidest person alive to not like her back. Wait. What? He shook his head. He didn’t know where those thoughts had come from. Though he wasn’t sad that they were there…But Marinette had made a good point. He did need to go get ready for his lunch date. Wait. Lunch…outing. Not a date. Nino and Alya were going too. And Marinette was just a friend. Just a…friend? Yes, just a friend. No. Wait, yes? Chat let out a frustrated sound.</p>
<p><br/>“Chat? What’s wrong?” Marinette said, looking closely at him. Chat leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek and then jumped out the window, leaving Marinette reeling. Chat needed to do some more thinking.</p>
<p>Marinette hurriedly brushed her hair and put them back into her signature pigtails before rushing out the door and hitting someone and falling over. Naturally. And of course, it just had to be Adrien Agreste who was just coming out of his room.</p>
<p><br/>“M-marinette!” he said in shock as she ran into him, him breaking her fall as they both fell over. She froze, her bluebell eyes huge, and terrified. Suddenly Adrien had the nerve to laugh, causing Marinette’s cheeks to heat up.</p>
<p><br/>“I don’t think there are enough numbers to count how many times this has happened to us.” Adrien said.</p>
<p><br/>“I’m so sorry Adrien, I was just rushing because I was late, I’ll try to look where I’m going next time,” she said, laughing slightly and trying to look like her heart wasn’t trying to beat out of her chest. Little did she know that Adrien was having the same problem. Though he wasn’t quite sure why. He put his hand behind his head, his signature move for when he was nervous or slightly uncomfortable.</p>
<p><br/>“No worries Marinette. We can be late together. We should go though, I’m sure Alya and Nino are waiting for us at the restaurant. Marinette nodded and they walked in silence down the stairs and out the door onto the street.</p>
<p><br/>“Soooo, um, did you hear about Chat Noir and Ladybug in Washington? Crazy right?” Marinette asked, trying to break the ice. As soon as she did her mind was once again filled with the strange idea that Chat was a classmate of hers. And she was dying to know who. Marinette ran through her list of suspects and was no closer to finding out who he was than she was before. Then she remembered that she was the one who had insisted on not finding out Chat’s identity. She hurriedly blocked out the thoughts of him.</p>
<p><br/>“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Marinette asked Adrien who had just obviously asked a question and was now looking at her for the expected answer. He smiled slightly.<br/>“I said that I did hear about it and I’m really glad that they’re here. Why do you think they came?”</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, you know…reasons. That I don’t know about,” she said, trying to sound like she was definitely keeping her cool. Adrien on the other hand, was probing for information. He had gotten a lot farther on his search to find out who Ladybug was, then Marinette had on who Chat was. Adrien had already talked to Juleka and Rose and had ruled both of them out. They just weren’t…Ladybugy enough. His next suspect: Marinette. Unfortunately she was being very elusive and her answers to every question he asked were neither enough to cross her off the list or to confirm she was Ladybug. Suddenly Marinette stopped and Adrien looked to see what the problem was. He found out pretty quickly.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh my gosh, Adrien,” Lila said, coming up to him and cupping her hand around his cheek. He quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled it away, taking a quick glance at Marinette to see if she was bothered. She looked stonily at Lila, anger in her eyes. Surprisingly, Lila seemed to be alone. There was no Sabrina or Chloe anywhere. The three were normally together, though Lila was definitely the worst of their group. Chloe and Sabrina had gotten better through the years. Lila though…well she had only gotten worse.</p>
<p><br/>“Hi. Lila,” Adrien said without emotion. Lila acted like she hadn’t heard his uninterested tone. Lila naturally ignored Marinette and pretended that she was invisible.</p>
<p><br/>“Hi honey, I’ve missed you so much. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” Lila said to Adrien, batting her eyelashes. Marinette pretended to barf, to which Adrien could not help but to laugh at. Finally, Lila noticed her.</p>
<p><br/>“I’m sorry, did someone say something?” She said, narrowing her eyes at Marinette. Marinette looked confused and looked around.</p>
<p><br/>“Gosh, I don’t think so Lila, maybe you’re hearing things. It wouldn’t be surprising actually,” Marinette said. Adrien turned away to hide his smirk. Lila saw it anyways.</p>
<p><br/>“Uh! You know what Marinette, at least I don’t have to look in the mirror everyday and see you’re horrible, ugly face staring back at me. I might almost feel bad for you. Anyways, have fun with your walk,” Lila said, shoving Marinette aside as she walked by. Marinette watched her walk away. She felt like she had been punched in the gut. If Adrien hadn’t been the good boy he was, he might have just punched Lila. He knew how fragile Marinette’s feelings were. But being the good gentleman he was, he did not punch Lila but instead put his hands on Marinette’s shoulders and looked her right in the eye.</p>
<p><br/>“Marinette. Look at me. Please don’t believe her. You’re so beautiful, everyone can see, and you know that she’s only saying that because she’s jealous. Besides, if there’s one thing we know about Lila, it’s that she’s a liar,” Adrien said. Marinette and Adrien both seemed to realize what he had said at the same time. Marinette’s eyes grew wide and her face turned red and Adrien was mentally slapping himself over and over again. Not that he didn’t think it was true…just that he didn’t want Marinette to know how he felt yet when he barely knew his own feelings for her. They awkwardly finished the rest of their walk to the restaurant where they met Alya and Nino who were already sitting down.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey guys, what took so long?” Alya said, winking to Marinette.</p>
<p><br/>“We met Lila,” Adrien said. Alya waved the bad thought away.</p>
<p><br/>“Agreste, we don’t need that bad vibe in here right now. You guys both look fine to me, so I want to hear more about Chat Noir,” she said, giving a pointed look to Marinette. Marinette and Adrien both stiffened.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey, what?” Nino said, looking confused. Alya smiled.</p>
<p><br/>“Apparently, Marinette and Chat Noir have been meeting in secret for like two years,” she said, “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that they’re dating,” Marinette and Adrien both started choking on air, though the attention was mostly on Marinette as she was blushing and spazing the most.</p>
<p><br/>“No way Mari, how come you didn’t tell us?” Nino asked. Marinette rapidly shook her head.</p>
<p><br/>“No. Not dating,” she choked out. Both Marinette’s and Adrien’s thoughts became saddened by the fact.</p>
<p><br/>“Well as far as I know that’s not what it looked like. Deny it all you want Marinette, but you two are crushing hard for each other,” Alya said. Marinette would have passed out had she known that Adrien was Chat Noir. Thankfully, she didn’t. Instead Marinette and Adrien both turned a new shade of red that has not been invented yet and spat out non-coherent words. If Alya had been watching Adrien, then she probably would have pieced together some pretty obvious pieces. But she wasn’t. Such a good opportunity lost.</p>
<p><br/>“That is so not true,” Marinette said, as she still had the power of speech. Adrien had still not regained that gift. Alya just smirked.</p>
<p><br/>“You still have to tell me all the details.”</p>
<p><br/>“There is nothing to say,” Marinette said.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh right, do you expect me to believe that after having him over every night for the past two years and there’s nothing to say?”</p>
<p><br/>“He didn’t come over every night!” Marinette protested. “And you know it’s not like that!” Alya started laughing.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey bro, you okay? You look a little…sick,” Nino asked Adrien, finally noticing him. He waved a hand at him, getting up out of his seat.</p>
<p><br/>“Get—need—water.” He said before running to the bathroom. Alya shook her head after him.</p>
<p><br/>“Boys. What a species.”</p>
<p><br/>“Hey!”</p>
<p><br/>“What? You’re just as weird, babe.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Adrien and Marinette had calmed down and both returned to their normal shade of skin, they all started their shopping. Adrien and Nino weren’t very interested and didn’t want to go along, but were dragged in by Alya, of course.</p><p>“Oh. My. Gosh. Mari, do you see that dress? The one in the window? It’s amazing. It’s totally my style. I love it. We have to go in,” Alya said, grabbing Marinette who grabbed Nino who grabbed Adrien. So, they all were dragged into the clothing store. Adrien sighed and plopped down on the seat next to the door, laying his head against the window. As much as he liked being in a new place, and having some freedom, he did not want to spend it on shopping. That was not his thing. Marinette came and sat down next to him as Alya examined the dress she had seen with Nino.</p><p>“Hey,” she said to him. He looked at her, surprised.</p><p>“Hi, what’s up?”</p><p>“Nothing. Being bored,” she said. Adrien laughed.</p><p>“Not much of a shopper either?” he asked. She shrugged.</p><p>“No, I am, it’s just sometimes I’m more up for it and other times I don’t much feel like it. Honestly, I prefer to make things, rather than buy them.” Adrien nodded.</p><p>“You’re really good at that. You’ve won a lot of my Dad’s competition’s, right?” Marinette flushed at the compliment, startling Adrien as he never truly realized how cute she was.</p><p>“Haha, yea. I-I did.”</p><p>“Remember the pigeon hat?” Adrien teased. Marinette’s face went tomato red and she ducked her head in her arms, letting out a small squeak.</p><p>“Don’t remind me! I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were so allergic,” she said. Adrien laughed.</p><p>“Mari, relax. It’s all good. I’m just teasing. The hat was purr-fect,” he said. Then he froze. He had accidently let some of his Chat slip through. Marinette caught it too, though she found it funny, rather than identity-revealing.</p><p>“Did you just make a Chat-Noir pun?” she asked laughing. Adrien was delighted. He had never found anyone else who enjoyed his puns.</p><p>“I’m just pawsitively pawsome at it,” he said. Marinette laughed again.</p><p>“Mine are just a cat-astrophe. I’m afraid I’m not furry good at making puns,” Marinette said. Adrien stared at her in amazement and then his face broke into a wide smile. They laughed and talked with each other until Alya and Nino came back, both of which were extremely confused by the turn of events.</p><p>“What’s going on here?” Alya asked with a teasing tone, arching her eyebrow at Marinette. Marinette’s face turned a little pink, but that was the only answer Alya got. Thankfully, it was enough to satisfy her.</p><p>“Come on lovebirds, let’s go,” she said, walking out the door before either of them could really process what she had said. Adrien and Marinette scrambled up and hurriedly followed them. They walked in silence down the street, pausing as Alya or Nino (who actually seemed to like shopping) found something interesting. After repeatedly sighing every time they turned into a shop, Alya finally turned around to Adrien and Marinette with hands on her hips.</p><p>“If you guys really don’t like shopping that much, you can go around by yourself if you want,” Alya said. Marinette was taken aback for a minute but then her friend winked at her and she suddenly understood that this was all for her benefit. So why not take advantage of it?</p><p>“You know, you’re right. Let’s go Adrien,” Marinette said, steering Adrien around and heading out the door. Adrien was more than happy to oblige. They reached the street and Marinette suddenly seemed to come to her senses and started apologizing to Adrien.</p><p>“I’msosorryyouprobablywantedtostayyoucangobackrightnowi’msorry,” she rushed out. It took Adrien a minute to process what she said.</p><p>“Marinette, no! Don’t worry. I didn’t want to be stuck in another shop for one more minute. Thank you for taking me out,” he said. Marinette sighed happily. She was very glad he wasn’t mad. Then they both realized what he said and they both turned red.</p><p>“Alrighty then…where do you want to go?” Adrien said, changing the subject.</p><p>“Uh, I don’t know. I have no idea where anything is around here. I was just following Alya,” Marinette said.</p><p>“Yeah, me too. Well, why don’t we just walk around then?” Adrien asked, knowing that if anything bad were to happen he would be able to protect himself and Marinette. Little did he know that Marinette was thinking the same thing. Great minds think alike, you know, yet fools rarely differ. Well, fools in love. As they wandered, they talked about many things, drifting from annoying clothing shops to Akumas.</p><p>“I know right, I can’t believe that Hawkmoth would come to America. And that Akuma was so weird. She didn’t stay and fight but went away. There’s never been an Akuma like that before,” Marinette was saying. Adrien nodded.</p><p>“I know, it’s really strange. Maybe it’s a special type of Akuma? Maybe Hawkmoth told her to stay on the down low for a while. It’s certainly confusing me,” Adrien said. Marinette nodded.</p><p>“I’m just worried that she’s going to resurface at the worst possible time and destroy something else in Washington D.C, or worse, hurt someone. And Ladybug can’t even fix anything until she’s successfully captured the Akuma, but she can’t even find the akumatized victim so it’s all so frustrating,” she said, voicing her own issues. She felt terribly guilty for not spending every waking hour looking for the Akuma, but it had really disappeared without a trace, and the best hope she had was to wait for it to show up again.</p><p>“Those poor Americans, they’re probably hating us French for bringing villains and superheroes to America,” Adrien said. Marinette laughed.</p><p>“I hope they don’t mind the superhero part though, I certainly don’t,” she said. Adrien nodded fervently.</p><p>“I wonder where they are right now?” he asked. Marinette looked thoughtful.</p><p>“Yeah, I wonder too,” she really wanted to know who Chat Noir was now. Curiosity was eating away at her.</p><p>Suddenly a burst of purple light cut through the air, illuminating the sky. It was quickly followed by a huge explosion and a cloud of dust. A purple dressed figure was seen flying high above the crime scene. Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, each wearing a panicky expression. They were far enough away to not be in any danger, so each of them felt no problem leaving the other, though it pained them to do so.</p><p>“I’m sorry I—”</p><p>“—I need to go!”</p><p>Marinette and Adrien both rushed off in different directions. Such bad timing. They were actually getting somewhere.</p><p>Marinette ran around the side of a building and made sure the coast was clear.</p><p>“Tikki! Spots on!” She transformed in a bright pink flash. Ladybug swung up to the roof to get a better view of things. Chat Noir appeared on the roof directly across from her.</p><p>“Where did she go?” Ladybug yelled across the street to him. He shrugged, not calling back. Ladybug was suddenly worried. After this Akuma, she needed to make sure Chat Noir was okay. She looked around, not seeing anything.</p><p>“Where could she have gone? She was here only two seconds ago. How does she keep disappearing?” Ladybug muttered to herself as she and Chat Noir went to inspect the damage from the earlier explosion they had heard. There were no people around, just a small hole in the side of a building.</p><p>“Should we go in…?” Chat Noir asked, stooping down to see more of the rubble. Ladybug landed next to him on the pile of rubble, making sure that there were no people stuck.</p><p>“I don’t know, it seems weird. Something is off. This is like no Akuma we have ever fought before.” Chat nodded. He looked around once at the outside and then ducked into the small hole. Ladybug sighed and followed. What was this silly cat about to get her into? They walked into the building, hitting the floor after stepping over all the rocks. There were no lights except from the small hole. Ladybug shivered as a cold breeze whisked past her legs. Suddenly Chat Noir tensed beside her. Then Ladybug felt it too. There was someone else in the room. They immediately went into their positions, standing back-to-back and twirling their weapons out in front of them.</p><p>“Don’t be so…afraid,” a voice came from the shadows. Ladybug shivered again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. She was scared. That voice—it was terrifying. A figure emerged from the dark, and Ladybug and Chat Noir gasped.</p><p>“Lila?” They said at the same time. The creature hissed, spreading its purple wings and flying into the air. She hovered above them, like a spider awaiting its prey.</p><p>“That is not who I am anymore. I am one and the same, two and different, one body with two.” She said. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other.</p><p>“What. I can see you have some problems, but as far as I can see you don’t have two bodies,” Chat Noir said. Lila laughed. Suddenly, her voiced changed, turning several octaves deeper.</p><p>“But you see, she does.” Ladybug and Chat Noir froze.</p><p>“Hawkmoth,” Ladybug whispered out. She hadn’t heard or seen him in nearly two years.</p><p>“He’s speaking through Lila!” Chat Noir said. He lengthened his baton out, hitting Lila in the forehead. It was like hitting a wall. Lila merely laughed.</p><p>“In case you haven’t noticed little kitty, I’m a little different than last time. After I’m through with you, well, let’s just say you’ll wish you’d never been born. You have fallen right into my plans, so please, continue playing along. Paris will be just fine without you,” Lila and Hawkmoth said together. Then there was a flash of light and Lila de-transformed and crumpled to a heap on the floor. Ladybug and Chat looked at each other, completely confused. Then there was a rumble, and the building started to shake.</p><p>“Grab Lila! Run!” Ladybug said, hauling Lila up with Chat and running with her out the small hole. Just as they jumped out, the whole building collapsed. They put Lila down and ran towards the building getting people out and checking to make sure no one was hurt.</p><p>“I don’t understand how everyone is okay. The building collapsed,” Ladybug said, standing with Chat in the place where Lila had been left (they had begrudgingly taken her to a hospital at her insistence that she was dying after purifying the Akuma off of her hair tie).</p><p>“I think it was Hawkmoth. I think he’s only in this for our Miraculous, not the death of the innocent,” Chat said. Ladybug nodded, unsure how she felt about the human side of such an evil man. They both shifted uneasily, knowing that Hawkmoth had let them off wayyyy too easily. They had done practically nothing, and that along with the knowledge that they were somehow playing right into his hands was not comforting.</p><p>“Let’s hope so,” Chat started to walk away, but Ladybug reached out and grabbed him.</p><p>“Hey, um, since we didn’t used our Charms, we still have some time before we de-transform. Do you want to talk? After I’ll Miraculous Ladybug everything.” Chat hesitated, but then nodded. They jumped up to a roof and sat, looking over the city.</p><p>“Quite a different view than Paris, isn’t it?” Ladybug said jokingly. Chat gave a half-hearted smiled.</p><p>“What’s a matter with you? You haven’t made one pun yet,” Ladybug said.</p><p>“Well, if you must know, I was with this girl before we got rudely interrupted,” Ladybug’s stomach dropped. Had Chat picked up an American so fast? Or was this someone from their class? Either way Chat liked someone. And it wasn’t her anymore.</p><p>“Oh,” Ladybug said dejectedly. Chat sighed really loud. Ladybug smiled despite herself.</p><p>“What’s wrong now?” she said. Chat turned to face her, his bright green eyes widening nervously.</p><p>“I have a problem,” he said. Ladybug didn’t say anything, “I think I’m in love with two people.” Ladybug froze. She turned to him, knowing what that look in his eyes meant. She couldn't bring herself to lie.</p><p>“I-I think I am too,” she said, staring into his green eyes. Chat looked at her, his eyes widening in shock. She blushed but refused to look away from him, their words hovering in the air between them. He drew slightly closer to her, and she did too, both of them pulled in by a mesmerizing force. They were hardly an inch apart, their eyes so wide and flicking down to the other’s lips. Chat hovered there for a moment, hardly believing what he was seeing. There she was, right in front of him. She was going to leave in a moment, of course she was. Because their moments always ended. Ladybug stared into his eyes, hating the sadness she saw in them. Sadness caused by her. She loved him, in every way, and didn’t care that there was someone else too. Because right now it was just Chat, and he deserved so much more than what she had been giving him. She grabbed his collar and pulled him to her, laughing at his startled yelp as her lips crashed on to his. He quickly recovered from his shock, wrapping his arms around her and through her hair, holding her so tight as she pulled him even closer. They broke apart, panting slightly and staring at each other in amazement.</p><p>“W-what?” Chat said, tearing his hands through his hair and looking around widely. He laughed and then looked back at her, his smile slipping off his face. “But what about the other—” he started. Ladybug looked down and then shook her head.</p><p>“I don’t know yet. I’m not in a relationship so this isn’t wrong, but it’s true, I do love someone else and so do you,” she said.</p><p>“Wait, you love me?” he said, practically shouting as he stared at her in amazement. She rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Yes, Chat, keep up. Ah shit, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, it’s just made everything more complicated. And we can’t even focus on this we have to deal with Hawkmoth. I think he sent this Akuma to America with our class, but not because he knows who we are, but because he wanted to draw us out. He’s trying to find us, to lure us out. And now he knows we’re here, and he’s not, so he has free reign over Paris. We’ve got to go back,” she started, looking extremely downcast.</p><p>“No, no, we cannot just let this drop. We still have to talk more about this. Hawkmoth can wait. Until I see another Akuma pop up in Paris I am not leaving here. Besides, if we come back it’ll be pretty clear exactly who are civilian selves are,” he told her, crossing his arms defiantly. She stared at him, pursing her lips, but eventually sighed.</p><p>“Fine. If worse comes to worse, we can just use a power-up and go by space. We could be back in an hour if we needed to be,” she said, and Chat nodded eagerly. They paused, and then looked back at each other.</p><p>“Let’s not…do this again. Yet,” Ladybug started, and Chat’s ears drooped.</p><p>“N-not that I don’t want to, it’s just it’s not fair to the other people we love,” she said. Chat looked at her and then felt his ears perk up slowly. He gave her a sly smile.</p><p>“What if we love each other, just outside of the mask too, M’lady,” he said. She stared, wide eyed, and laughed nervously.</p><p>“No one could be that lucky.”</p><p>“Look, how about this. We’re going to reveal ourselves sooner rather than later, it’s just a given. We already know that we’re in the same class, and we both love two people. If we can’t figure out who both of us really are by this time tomorrow, then we reveal ourselves right here. If we really are in love with two different people, then we’ll have to make that decision then,” Chat said. He would have asked to just reveal themselves now, but he knew Ladybug would freak at the suggestion. She didn’t much like change. But expected change she could deal with. Ladybug felt the familiar urge to argue with him, but she pushed it down. He was right. She nodded.</p><p>“Fine. But two days, not one. I want a good chance to figure this out before we’re forced to. I’d like this to be on my own terms, not just by some silly rule,” she explained, and Chat nodded. They both stood up and looked at each other. They took a step closer until they were nearly nose to nose. Chat enveloped her into a hug.</p><p>“I really hope you’re who I want you to be,” Chat whispered in her ear, and she hugged him tighter.</p><p>“Me too. But what if we’re not?” she whispered out in fear. Chat pulled back and looked at her in the eyes.</p><p>“I already love you. Nothing can change that,” he told her, and she smiled in relief as they parted ways.</p><p> </p><p>“GUYSSSSS!!” Alya screeched, making the three of them jump as she flew into the seat next to Nino in the lobby of their hotel. Ms. Bustier had asked them all to report back to the hotel after the akuma attack.</p><p>“Chill, babe, chill,” Nino said, but she ignored him.</p><p>“What is it, Alya?” Adrien asked, slightly bemused. He and Marinette were both slightly out of it, but no one seemed to notice. She grinned to herself, laughing with glee as she pulled out her phone. Marinette and Adrien winced, both having a pretty good idea what she was going to show them. They weren’t disappointed. The video played on loop, Marinette blushing uncontrollably at the way she grabbed Chat and pulled him towards her, eventually having to hide her face in her arms as she remembered the feeling of his lips on hers. Adrien didn’t look much better, though he seemed strangely happy about the whole thing.</p><p>“How did you get that?” he asked Alya, wanting to make sure that next time things would be much, much more private.</p><p>“I was there for the Akuma attack, obviously, and then I followed them. If only they had de-transformed, but I don’t even think the other knows who the other is yet. Even after all this time. I couldn’t hear what they said though,” she said in disappointment. Adrien and Marinette visibly relaxed.</p><p>“Oh look, there’s Lila,” Nino said, with an angry breath. They all turned around and watched as Lila shuffled into the room, hobbling with crutches and a sling. Her being the akuma had quickly become common information.</p><p>“What does she even need that for? Ladybug fixes everything,” Alya hissed under her breath. They had finally believed Marinette and Adrien about Lila’s lies. About time too.</p><p>“I know right. It’s her fault she got akumatized too. Probably working for Hawkmoth. Bitch,” a voice said to their right, and they looked up in shock to see Chloe of all people shaking her head as she watched people simp over Lila.</p><p>“Er, what was that Chloe?” Adrien said, trying hard not to laugh in confusion as well as amusement.</p><p>“You heard me. Anyways, see you people. I’m going shopping no matter what Ms. Bustier says, and then to dinner at the Four Seasons. I have reservations, you know. Let’s go Sabrina,” she called, and the two girls sashayed out the door. The four of them looked at each other for a moment, and then all started laughing.</p><p>“Alrightttt. Well, that was weird,” Nino said, shaking his head, and they all agreed. Marinette was slightly troubled though. She mulled over Chloe’s words. Working for Hawkmoth? Why would she say such a thing? It was quite an accusation, and one she was determined to follow up on.</p><p>“What’s on your mind?” Alya said, looking at her friend with concern. Marinette shook her head.</p><p>“Something Chloe said. Do you think Lila would be working for Hawkmoth? I mean, I know she’s mean, but evil? I don’t know,” she said.</p><p>“It’s a stretch, but then, stranger things have happened. What would her purpose be though? What would they be trying to do exactly here in America?” Alya told her. Marinette shook her head.</p><p>“I don’t know. It seemed like Ladybug and Chat Noir followed him, but maybe he followed them,” Marinette said, mostly talking to herself.</p><p>“But why? What’s he trying to do?” Adrien said, turning to face her. They looked at each other, green eyes meeting blue, and both trying not to think of the other pair they knew of. Eventually Marinette shrugged, not going to lay all her theories out on the table in such an open area. Eventually they parted ways with each other as they all decided they could do with some much needed rest.</p><p>Adrien trudged up the stairs to his room, annoyed at failing to discover Ladybug’s identity. He had spoken to Alix and Mylene, and was fully confident that they were not his lady. Next on his list was Sabrina. He knew it was not Chloe, Lila, or Alya, and though all facts told him it wasn’t Marinette either, he still refused to give up hope. He had seen her as multi-mouse, but he was not giving up yet. Why? Well, he wasn’t going to think about that right now.</p><p>He looked up and saw Marinette give a small wave to Nino as she shut the door to her room. Alya and Nino were thinking of going to see a movie later, and they had purposefully not invited Marinette and Adrien, who were more than happy to let them have their alone time. Adrien glanced at Marinette’s door. So she was free this evening. So was he. How wonderful. He might just be able to kill two birds with one cat.</p><p>He made a quick phone call and then walked up to Marinette’s door. Just after he knocked did he realize he probably should have bought some flowers first. No matter. He’d get them on the way to the restaurant. Marinette opened the door, smiling as she met Adrien’s eyes. His heart did a small flip as he smiled back. He took a breath, channeling his inner Chat Noir. He leaned closer to her.</p><p>“So. I heard you’re free this evening. So am I. Just by happy coincidence I managed to get a table for two at 7:00 at the Four Seasons right within hearing distance of a Chloe Bourgeois. Care to join?” he said, leaning against the door frame. She stared up at him, her mouth dropping. He leaned closer, breathing in her warm vanilla scent.</p><p>“What? Cat got your tongue?” He said slyly and was pleased with the blush that rose up her neck. She seemed to recover herself, and blinked, and then smirked. She leaned forward, almost nose to nose with him, and he forced himself not to move back. His eyes flicked down to her lips and then back up to her eyes which narrowed in amusement as she caught him staring. He gulped.</p><p>“Sure,” she said, smiling brightly as she quickly drew away from him and shut the door. He was left standing there, his mouth wide open and his heart racing furiously. He regained himself and walked across the hall to his room. Nino opened it for him and gave him a strange look. “You good, bro? You’ve got a weird look on your face. And you’re all red. Kinda purple,” Nino said, trailing off as Adrien sighed and sank down into the sofa. He had a date. With quite possibly Ladybug herself. He grinned and ignored whatever Nino was saying to him. Tonight was going to be perfect. He was going to make sure of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OOF quite a lot happened. What will happy next tho? (hehehe) Comment and leave kudos if you like :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrien knocked on Marinette’s door at exactly 6:45. They weren’t far from the restaurant. He heard her shout out a small ‘coming’, and he waited patiently, looking at the ceiling and absentmindedly thinking of nothing.</p>
<p>“Hey, Mari, how do you think they make the ceiling like that? Like is it on purpose or the type of material—” he started as he heard the door open. His words left him as he looked down at her. His eyes grew wide and he could not help but to stare. She was gorgeous. Beautiful. Exquisite. A true princess. Everything and anything he could have ever wanted. She wore a light pink dress to her knees, and it flowed around her softly, like the petals of a flower. It was a sleeveless dress, with the neckline just under her collarbone, and Adrien gulped, doing his best not to blush. Her hair was down, as he hardly had ever seen it, with some pulled back but enough strands left to frame her face.</p>
<p>“Actually, I don’t know, I’ve wondered about it but I’ve never—”</p>
<p>“You’re perfect,” Adrien blurted out, and she stared at him, blue-bell eyes wide and a light pink creeping over her cheeks and up her neck.</p>
<p>“I-I mean you look perfect. Beautiful, even. I mean, you’ve always been beautiful, but this is like, wow, and…I’m going to stop talking now,” Adrien trailed off, his face as red as Marinette had ever seen. A smile slipped over her face and she laughed, the sound like a warm breeze that engulfed Adrien’s heart.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Adrien. You look wonderful too,” she said, and he smiled in relief, and offered her his arm. They walked arm in arm out of the hotel and down the street, laughing and talking in the warm summer air. Adrien held the door open for her and she gasped in awe at the grandeur of the place. Waiters looked at them strangely as they were just kids, but as soon as Adrien gave his name there was an entirely different attitude. Their service was impeccable, their seating optimal, and they never had to look for a waiter as one was always ready to help in any way possible. They were seated outside on the warm terrace, with a small curtain separating them from Chloe and Sabrina’s table. But the best part of the whole thing, was the fact that they were there together. Adrien and Marinette both thought that honestly, nothing could have been any better. They opened the menus, Adrien already cutting her off before she could yell at him about the price.</p>
<p>“Adrien!—”</p>
<p>“It’s done. There’s nothing you can do about it. Besides, don’t say my name so loud, they’re gonna hear us,” he said, laughing, and Marinette succumbed to quiet mutterings about the prices. The waiter returned and took their orders, and soon they settled into comfortable silence. Chloe and Sabrina had yet to talk about anything Lila/Akuma related, so Adrien and Marinette were quite glad to talk to each other.</p>
<p>“I wonder how Alya and Nino are doing,” Marinette said, snickering to herself. Adrien shook his head as he smiled.</p>
<p>“I don’t think it’s a question of how but of what,” he said, earning a playful eye roll from Marinette.</p>
<p>“Anyways, they’re not here right now, so let’s not think of them. Tell me about you, Mari. What are you going to do after high school? You know we only have one year left, and then we can do whatever we want,” Adrien told her, his eyes lighting up at the possibilities. She sighed, her thoughts chasing away at her dreams. She sat up a little and smiled.</p>
<p>“Well, I love fashion, you know that. I’ve got an internship with your father this summer as well, so hopefully that can turn into a job opening for me. I want to go to school for design, so doing that and having a job with Gabriel will be probably more than anything I could have hoped for,” she said, somewhat bashfully.</p>
<p>“And then what? You become Paris’ greatest fashion designer, blow my dad out of the water, and then take over the world?” he said, laughing. She grinned.</p>
<p>“Yea, something like that. What about you? Where do you see yourself in five years?” He let out a small laugh, and shook his head, looking at the city and then back at her. His eyes were so beautiful, so green, and pure. She was sure no one had ever looked at her like that…well, maybe except for one person—stop. Her thoughts were not allowed to go there. Not right now. She was with Adrien, and she deserved his full attention.</p>
<p>“Well, I know what my dad wants of me. I’ll take over the company I’m sure, be shuffled around until he’s unable to keep running it, and then live out the rest of my life shut away in a cold, dark, house,” he said, meaning to finish the thought with a smile, but it was more of a grimace. Marinette stared at him, not with a look of pity, but with something that almost resembled a challenge.</p>
<p>“What?” he asked her, taken in by the look in her eyes. She was so determined, so fierce, so much like his Lady. But that wasn’t why he loved her. Yes, he loved her, but not because he thought she could be Ladybug. That was just an added bonus. She was Marinette, and that was more than enough for him.</p>
<p>“Just for a moment, just for a moment lets pretend that the world is ours. Then what would you do? Who would you be?” she asked him, her words soft and sweet.</p>
<p>“I would be a physics professor at the greatest academy in the world. I’d win the Nobel Peace Prize for curing cancer, and I’d be a husband to the most amazing girl in the world and have three beautiful kids. And a hamster,” he added as an afterthought, laughing slightly. “I know it’s crazy and silly, ignore me—" Marinette reached her hand across the table and laid it on top of his. He looked up into her eyes and felt his breath catch as she smiled.</p>
<p>“It’s not silly, and it’s not crazy. It’s a dream, and one you have a great chance of pursuing. You deserve just as much of a chance to find your happiness as does everyone else. Don’t let what other people want, determine your path. You have to go for it,” she said. Somehow, he was holding both of her hands, and smiling at her words. Suddenly, anything felt possible.</p>
<p>“You’re right. I do deserve that. I can do what I want. I’m going to be who I want, and no one’s going to stop me,” he said, laughing. She grinned, squeezing his hand.</p>
<p>“Yes, you are,” she said softly, and the smile settled on his face. Their eyes were locked on each other, and the world around them had ceased to exist. It was just them, no laughter from the nearby tables, no clinking of the silverware, no loud traffic sounds. Only them.</p>
<p>“Mari, I—” Adrien started, when a word jarred him out of his thoughts.</p>
<p>“—and she had the nerve to hide the akuma all the way from Paris to here. She just kept it in her lap, like it was a freaking pet. I’ve never really liked her, but I’m telling you we are done with that girl, Sabrina. I want nothing to do with Hawkmoth, and I think they’re working together. She didn’t become akumatized, she chose it, she can take it on or off whenever she wants, so long as she has the butterfly. And I heard her say things to him. I think they’re planning something. Something to take down Ladybug and Chat Noir for good. I want to tell them, but I can’t find them anywhere,” Chloe said, sounding unusually scared. Adrien and Marinette stared at each other, eyes wide.</p>
<p>“Did you hear anything about the plan?” Sabrina asked fearfully. Marinette and Adrien leaned in.</p>
<p>“He’s trying to use her to uncover their identities. I don’t know what he’s going to do once he does, but I don’t think it’ll be good. He’s probably going to harm their families, and if I can’t warn them and something happens to them, it’ll be all my fault and—” she stopped talking, tears overtaking her. Marinette and Adrien’s jaws dropped, unable to comprehend what was going on. Chloe Bourgeois, mean girl #2, was sitting next to them crying her eyes out because she was unable to help people she didn’t even know. Sure, she had mellowed out some over the years and had been more friend like, but that didn't mean she had completely changed. And more importantly, Hawkmoth was on his way to finding out who they really were. Marinette’s thoughts immediately flashed to her parents. Her friends, everyone she ever cared about. Adrien’s thoughts flashed to her. Nino. Alya. His class. Even to Natalie and his father. Now more than ever did they want to talk to their other selves, but they knew that it was no longer safe. Not with Lila snooping around everywhere. The only chance they had was to find their partner as their civilian self. They looked at each other, anxiety piling up in their stomachs.</p>
<p>Chloe and Sabrina left soon after, and Marinette and Adrien ate their food in silence. Both of their minds were so preoccupied on the problem at hand that neither one noticed the quiet. Finally Marinette sat up with a start as Adrien set down his fork roughly.</p>
<p>“Are you alright? What’s wrong?” Marinette said as an expression of anger crossed over his face. He scowled at the ground and then looked back up at her, something like guilt and sadness in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Mari…I asked you here tonight to be with you, not to be sidetracked by Chloe. It was just an added bonus really, and I hate how what she said kind of put a damper on our night. If it’s alright with you, I don’t want to think about this anymore, as there’s nothing we can do right now. If you’ll come with me, I know a place where we can take our minds off things,” he said, standing up and offering her his hand. Marinette smiled, and nodded eagerly, knowing she’d go anywhere he asked her to. She took his hand and followed him out of the restaurant, not making any comments as he laid a couple hundred-dollar bills on their table. Adrien called a car and they got in, the whole time not letting go of their hands. They hardly even seemed to realize they were still holding them, but if either of them had, they didn’t move.</p>
<p>“Where are we?” Marinette whispered out in the cool night as they stepped out of the car. The warmth of his hand still in hers made her feel as if she were warm all over. He looked over at her and gave her a small smirk, and in the darkness of the night she was able to picture a different blond next to her. Her heart leapt at that idea, and she clung to it, for once not pushing her hopes down.</p>
<p>“You’ll see, m’lady,” he told her, the nickname going right over her head. He led her down the crowded streets to a walkway along the water. The lights were beautiful from the surrounding hotels and restaurants, and they stopped for some ice cream before walking out along the pier. Marinette shivered as they walked further out, the wind picking up around them. Adrien quietly slid off his suit jacket and slipped it over her shoulders. They leaned against the railing, breathing in the water and the air around them, and talking softly to each other.</p>
<p>“Do you like it here?” Adrien asked her. She smiled.</p>
<p>“I do, it’s so different, but…it’s a good different,” she said, and he nodded. He looked over at her, longing building in his chest, words and feelings he wanted to say to her but couldn’t just yet. He thought of his lady, and the girl right next to him, and let them meld together. There was so much he wanted to do, but so much was in the way. Marinette’s eyes slowly started to flutter, and Adrien laughed to himself, wrapping an arm around her waist. They were all exhausted, and though he wished for the night to continue on forever, he knew what was best for both of them. Besides, he was already planning dozens of more date ideas in his head. He half carried her down the pier and to the awaiting car, and when she placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, everything just felt…right. They held on to each other right until they had to part ways at their doors. Marinette looked up at him, her eyes blue and bright, and Adrien stared back, his breath caught in his throat.</p>
<p>“Thank you for this amazing night. Even if it was all just to figure out what Chloe was talking about, it was still wonderful, and I loved every minute of it,” Marinette said, smiling. A small flash of sadness crossed over her eyes, and Adrien stared in amazement. How could she not know? How could she not tell that it also meant so much more to him than that? He reached his hand up to her face and kissed her cheek lightly.</p>
<p>“I had a wonderful time too, Marinette. And…if you’d like to, I’d like to take you out again. And as an official date this time,” he said. She stared, and then her lips quirked up in a small smile. She squeezed his hand.</p>
<p>“I’d love that. See you tomorrow, minou,” she said, and slipped into her room. Adrien sighed against the door frame. He had done it. His hand was nearly to the door to his room when a bolt of panic shot through him. He groaned. He had forgotten the flowers.</p>
<p>Well, if it was any consolation, Chat Noir did not forget the flowers, and Marinette blushed from head to toe the next morning as her eyes fell upon the bouquet of pink roses left outside her window. I wonder how they had gotten there?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Girl, you’ve got to get it together, Ms. Bustier is going to be mad if we’re late. Our day of relaxation is over, and we’ve got to go sightseeing,” Alya said, trying to keep herself from laughing and failing. Marinette hardly heard her, humming softly to herself and staring with a lovesick grin whenever she caught sight of the pink roses. It was quite a lot as she held them in her hands. Alya groaned to herself and plucked the flowers out of her hands, slammed them in a vase, and shoved Marinette out the door. She dragged her along until they reached the foyer where she deposited the girl to Agreste and left to rant to Nino while all the while quite unable to stop smiling. Her best friend had <em>finally</em>, finally gotten what she deserved.</p>
<p>“Alright class, settle down. Today we’re going sightseeing. First up is the Washington Monument, then the World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, White House, and then a museum of your choice, and there are lots of them. We do not need to stay as a group while at each location, but I would prefer us to stay together when moving from place to place so as not to leave anyone behind. Everyone needs a buddy, and it is your job to make sure that person is in your sights at all times. Alright, lets head out!” she called, and walked out through the doors, the class trailing along behind her. Marinette hesitated in asking Adrien to be her buddy, worst-case scenarios flooding through her mind, rejection, hurt, anxiety, worry—</p>
<p>“…Marinette did you hear me?” Marinette jumped, turning with wide eyes and a pink face to see Adrien looking at her with concern. She shook her head in shame. He smiled and laughed, the sound filling Marinette’s heart and lungs, it was all she ever needed to survive. He grabbed her hand as he turned to follow the group, twining their fingers together and unknowingly almost killing Marinette. Sure, she remembered last night, but part of her still had managed to convince herself it was all a dream. Yet here her dream was, pulling her along and looking at her like she was the only girl in the world. And the class caught on quickly.</p>
<p>“Broooo. Bro. Brooooo,” was all Kim could say.</p>
<p>“About freakin time,” Alix told them, rolling her eyes as she passed and grabbed Kim’s arm to keep him from ogling.</p>
<p>“Too cute!” Rose squeaked, and Juleka made an appreciative sound. Ivan said nothing but Mylene whispered constantly to the girls, all of them shooting constant smiles over their shoulders at them. Alya and Nino walked hand in hand besides the two, and smugness was not even close to the word needed to describe their expressions. Both seemed to think it was entirely their own doing that had brought the two together. And naturally, Adrien was oblivious to all of it.</p>
<p>“Wow, Mari, look at the water. It goes on forever,” he said, his eyes lighting up as he sat down by the edge, staring at the ducks, and still clutching Marinette’s hand in his own.</p>
<p>“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, sighing happily. Everything was absolutely perfect in the world. Nothing could ruin the moment. There was not a cloud in sight, the day was the perfect temperature, and the class was finally more interested in their surroundings than they were of the new developments. Yes, not even Lila was around…ah shit.</p>
<p>“Hi, Adriennn,” she said, sitting down next to him, and giving him a look full of sap and utter lies. Adrien stiffened next to Marinette and he tightened his grip on her hand, all the while keeping his eyes on the water, and his face expressionless.</p>
<p>“Hi, Lila,” he said with an even voice. She faked a shiver.</p>
<p>“Gosh it’s a getting a little cold,” she said, giving Adrien’s light jacket a small side look and scooting closer to him. He looked up and paused for a moment, taking a breath before answering her. He turned to her and smiled.</p>
<p>“You’re right, it is, isn’t it? Here, Marinette, have my jacket,” he said, and to Lila’s utter horror he slid it off and wrapped it around Marinette’s shoulders.</p>
<p>“I’m not cold you know,” she whispered to him, trying desperately not to laugh at Lila’s expression.</p>
<p>“You are now,” he whispered back, and winked almost imperceptively at her. Adrien stood up and offered Marinette his hand.</p>
<p>“Princess?” he said, and she smiled, grabbing his hand as he pulled her up. They managed to contain their laughter until they had reached at least fifteen feet away from Lila’s absolutely manic expression, but it was loud enough that they were sure she had heard them.</p>
<p>“That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Marinette said, wiping her eyes. Adrien put his hand over his heart, dragging Marinette’s along to also rest on his chest.</p>
<p>“You wound me, M’lady,” he said with a dramatic sigh, “if not the Four Seasons then what? I will take you to the fanciest of all fancy restaurants. Or rescue you from the highest tower, best a dragon if I have to. Battle the alligators that live in this here very lake—” Marinette gasped.</p>
<p>“Minou! Not the alligators in this here very lake!” she cried, laughing as Adrien turned towards the water as if scouting for alligators. He wrapped his arm around her neck and drew her close to him to kiss her head lightly.</p>
<p>“Come on, Chaton, we’ve got to leave the imaginary alligators alone now. The class is leaving for the White House,” she said, giggling as she pulled him along.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So,” Alya said, sliding up to Marinette as she grabbed a spot to sit down as Adrien went to buy her some food for a late lunch. The class had finally dispersed to go and peruse museums, and Alya, Nino, Marinette and Adrien had decided to stick together to grab some food first. Marinette gave her a small hum in response, watching Adrien with a grin on her face.</p>
<p>“Hellooo. Earth to Marinette. I just wanna know what’s with all the nicknames,” she said. Marinette blinked.</p>
<p>“Nicknames? What’re you talking about? I don’t call Adrien anything. It’s too soon for that. It’d be so awkward trying to think of one, anyways,” she said, making a face. What would she even call him? Adrikins like Chloe used to? She shuddered. Alya just stared at her.</p>
<p>“You’re kidding me, right? How about minou? Chaton? My prince? Ring any bells?” she said. Now it was Marinette’s turn to stare. There was no way Alya should have known about those nicknames. They were reserved for one chat only.</p>
<p>“H-how do you know those?” she said with fear in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Um, maybe because it’s all you’ve been saying to him all day, and yesterday too actually,”</p>
<p>“Saying to who?” Marinette cried. Alya looked as if she was trying to see if she was pulling her leg.</p>
<p>“To Adrien, you ditz! How could you not realize what you’ve been calling him? Do you even know what he says to you? My lady, princess, bugaboo, honestly you guys sound like you’re trying to be Ladybug and Chat—” Marinette put her hand over Alya’s mouth. Her mind was racing, and her heart was pounding so uncomfortably fast. She looked around quickly, trying to see if anyone had heard what Alya had said. No one was around, but that hardly mattered. If she really had been so transparent then surely everyone had come to the same idea Alya had, which was much, much too close to comfort. She had slipped. She had messed up so, so bad. Alya pushed her hand away and Marinette did not hear a word she said as she yelled at her. All Marinette could see was Adrien. She had pushed the two blonds together so far that they had actually become the same person. She had suspected, but now, now she knew. And she knew that Adrien did too, whether subconsciously or not. They had gotten their wish, and now they were paying for it. It would not be long until the rest of the class put two and two together, what with Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing each other just yesterday. Who else had heard her? Who else— she froze. Her heart stopped. Lila. Chloe’s words rushed through her head from last night. If she really had been there to spy on the class, to draw out their identities for Hawkmoth, she had hardly had to do anything at all. They had gift wrapped them right to her door.</p>
<p>“Marinette! What is your problem! Why are you being so—” Alya’s words broke off as she met Marinette’s eyes. They were wide and full of dread, and fear. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Alya’s eyes widened. She fell back against the tree, releasing a shaky breath. Marinette knew she had put the pieces together. It was obvious. It was so, so, obvious, and they had been so careless, so stupid.</p>
<p>“Alya. Please,” Marinette whispered out, her voice hardly strong enough to speak. She didn’t know what she was asking for, but she needed it, desperately. Alya looked at her, her face unreadable.</p>
<p>“So you are, then? And he is too?” she said quietly. Marinette gave a small nod.</p>
<p>“All this time?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you say anything?” she said, her eyes portraying her pain. Marinette felt the tears slipping down her cheeks.</p>
<p>“I c-couldn’t, y-you have to understand that. I wasn’t even sure who h-he was until just now. I suspected, but I still didn’t k-know, but now, now everything is at stake. If y-you know, I’m sure everyone else will figure it out t-too, and he’s going to find us, h-he’s going to hurt my family, he’s going to hurt you,” Marinette said, now uncontrollably sobbing and shaking. Whatever Alya felt, it didn’t matter. Marinette was right. What was at stake was much more important than her own feelings. She didn’t have to understand to know that she would always be there for her best friend. Alya sat up and leaned towards Marinette. She wiped her eyes and forced her to look at her.</p>
<p>“Don’t you give up now. You have no idea what’s going to happen, and there is no use thinking about it. I am here for you, I will never leave you. We’re going to figure this out. It’s going to be okay,” she told her. Marinette nodded after a moment, sitting up and pulling herself together. She took a deep breath.</p>
<p>“You’re right. We can’t give up. If he found us, we can find him. We’re going to track down that son of a bitch and get to him before he can get to us,” Marinette said, unknowingly striking a pose that was quite similar to Ladybug’s.</p>
<p>“Alright ladies, here’s a ham and cheese sandwich for Mari, and a cheeseburger for you, my dear,” Nino said, holding out their food. They did not respond to him and merely looked at each other with worried glances.</p>
<p>“Um, what’s going on? Is everything alright?” Adrien said, looking at Marinette with worry. She looked into his eyes and felt her stomach fill with dread.</p>
<p>“We have to go back to Paris.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry that was kinda a rollercoster, but I hope it was an enjoyable one :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrien sat with Nino, both of them stress eating not only their food but the food for both Marinette and Alya. Nino had absorbed the reveals with a quiet mouth drop and a few head shakes, and Adrien had blinked for a moment and then had not stopped smiling. He was holding Marinette in his lap, eating and attempting to stop smiling but failing. Marinette was still extremely worried about the whole situation, but the stroking of her head seemed to be calming her down slightly.The knowledge that she wasn't alone anymore was almost too relieving to understand.</p><p>“Alright, we need a plan people,” Alya said, sitting up on her knees, and forcing them out of their own heads.</p><p>“What can we possibly do? We can’t all go to Paris, and if Marinette and Adrien leave it’ll be extremely clear who they are if he doesn’t know already. We’re no closer to figuring out Hawkmoth’s identity, and cant risk anything because of Lila,” Nino said, slumping forward slightly. Marinette sat up slightly, turning her head to look at Adrien.</p><p>“What’s that thing you said on the monument? Trace the akuma back to Hawkmoth?” she asked him. Adrien gaped at her for a moment, and then smiled and nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, I did,” he said, surprised she had remembered, “I thought that if we could find the identity of the akuma, we could figure out how it got here to America, and maybe somehow trace that back to Hawkmoth.”</p><p>“Okay, so, we know it was Lila who was akumatized. Chloe said that she kept the akuma with her all the way to America, so we can therefore assume that Hawkmoth is not also in America. He either sent it with Lila to draw us to America or sent it with her because he knew we were in the same class as her. Either way, she must have been aware of his plan, so he must trust her. But how or why would an adult know a seventeen-year-old high schooler?” Marinette said. They looked at each other and did not say the words that they were all thinking. Nino shuddered slightly.</p><p>“We can’t very well talk to her, but there is someone who we can talk to…,” Adrien said, and just like that they were sprinting across the lawn towards the National Air and Space Museum. They didn’t even have to go inside, as they found the blond screaming about American incompetence to one of the frazzled tourists who had merely not held open the door for her.</p><p>“Chloe! There you are, wondering where you’d gotten off to,” Adrien said, stepping in immediately and dragging her away.</p><p>“Ugh, get off me, Adrien. Where’s Dupain-Cheng anyways? You already mess that up?” she said, and Adrien frowned at her and released her.</p><p>“Don’t look at me like that, it was a joke,” she said. Adrien continued to stare at her until she mumbled something that sounded like an apology.</p><p>“H-hey Chloe,” Marinette called out shakily as Adrien led her over to their little group. Chloe looked around suspiciously.</p><p>“I don’t want anyone to see me here with you,” she said, checking to make sure no one was around. She then gave a small smile to Marinette and quickly glanced at Adrien. Marinette blushed but smiled back and nodded.</p><p>“So. Why have I been kidnapped here?” Chloe said, looking around at the four of them with her hands on her hips. They looked at each other, and shuffled slightly, no one having any idea how to bring up the very important topic.</p><p>“You see, Chlo, er, I don’t exactly know how to say this, actually I don’t know how at all, and you’re probably going to be really mad, but—”</p><p>“Spit it out, Agreste,” Chloe growled, and Adrien smiled sheepishly with his hand around his neck.</p><p>“Last night, at the four seasons, I was kinda, k-kinda t-there—” Adrien stopped talking at the look of murderous rage in Chloe’s eyes.</p><p>“You mean you heard me crying like a four-year-old,” she said very evenly. Adrien nodded slowly.</p><p>“You heard what I said about Lila.” He nodded again, his eyes flicking towards Marinette’s every other second in pure terror.</p><p>“You heard what I wanted to tell Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Her voice had become slowly more uneven and now she was starting to breath very heavily.</p><p>“C-Chloe, you have to understand, it’s not like we intentionally…nevermind. But it’s okay because we’re the only people who could have actually taken what you said and not used it against you,” Adrien tried. Chloe chest was heaving, and it looked like she was trying exceptionally hard not to tear apart her childhood friend. Adrien looked absolutely terrified, looking from Marinette to possible escape routes all the while inching back slowly.</p><p>“Oh no, don’t you go anywhere Agreste,” Chloe said, rushing forward while Adrien cowered. Suddenly she froze, and Adrien looked through his hands at Marinette who was standing with her hand on Chloe’s shoulder, looking at her with a stony face.</p><p>“Chloe,” Marinette said with a dangerous lilt in her voice. Chloe turned her head very slowly to look at her.</p><p>“Ladybug and Chat Noir are in very serious danger. As we all are. Because of what you said they know that Hawkmoth is very close to discovering who they are if he doesn’t know already. That puts their family, their friends, and everyone who knows them at risk. We need you to tell us if you know anything, anything at all, about who Hawkmoth really is, because we’ve got to get him before he gets us,” she said very quietly to only Chloe. Chloe tensed, staring at the ground with her mouth slightly open. She looked up slowly to Adrien, and then to Marinette, looking them both up and down. Marinette’s gaze did not leave her eyes, and as she met them again, she closed her mouth, her eyes steely. She nodded.</p><p>The group walked quickly across the streets towards the hotel. They didn’t say a word to each other as they crammed into the elevator, nor when they piled into Marinette and Alya’s room. They crowded around Marinette who leaned down under her bed, and slowly pulled out a strange looking circular box. She turned back around to face them, and then grimly held out a miraculous to three of them.</p><p>“Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, I am entrusting you with this miraculous. It is yours now, until Hawkmoth has been defeated,” she said, and the three of them nodded, taking them with solemn expressions. Three kwami’s flew out of them, as did Tikki and Plagg from Marinette’s purse and Adrien’s jacket. Tikki and Plagg looked at each other and at Marinette and Adrien, for once both serious and silent in the gravity of the situation.</p><p>“What now, Ladybug?” Alya whispered out. Marinette met Adrien’s eyes.</p><p>“Now, we need the information Chloe has, and then we make the decision to go back home, or stay here,” she said, turning to Chloe, “So?” They all turned to the girl, who looked at them with wide, almost frightened eyes. She stepped back and hit against the bed and sat down upon it. They crowded around and she looked down, her hands clenching on the fabric of her shirt. She gulped several times, and then shakily took a breath.</p><p>“Over the years I’ve heard and seen a lot from Lila. Just bits and pieces, things that didn’t make much sense, and things I didn’t dwell on. I always knew she was a liar, but because hardly anyone else did, it only helped my reputation to be seen with her. We were never actually friends, just hung around each other at school. But recently…I don’t know. Recently I can’t even pretend to like her anymore. She’s absolutely awful. I hear her talking to herself, right, but now, now I think it’s been Hawkmoth all this time. And when I saw the way she just held the akuma on the bus, well I knew she wasn’t just another victim. She’s in on whatever he’s doing, and—” she stopped, her breath hitching. Whatever she was going to say was physically painful for her to get out. Marinette crouched down in front of her.</p><p>“It’s ok. Whatever you say we’re going to be able to handle it,” she told her confidently, and the others nodded. Chloe gave them small smile, which quickly faded.</p><p>“She said, well, she implied, that she knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir were in this class,” there was a collective intake of breath, “b-because, because, Hawkmoth is a parent of one of us,” her last words came out in a whisper and dead silence descended over the group. Marinette stood up abruptly.</p><p>“What else did you hear, Chloe?” she said, her voice dangerously calm. Chloe continued staring at the ground.</p><p>“Because he’s a parent of someone in the class, I think he was able to see a pattern of Ladybug and Chat Noir always being there or knowing the names of the classmates because he’s familiar with it too, and he was using Lila as a spy all this time. He wasn’t entirely sure though, so he sent Lila with the akuma to draw you out when you weren’t in Paris, so he could be sure you were actually in this class. I’ve been looking to see who you were too, but I couldn’t find you. Otherwise, I would have said. I don’t know if Lila’s figured it out yet, though, but she might know who Hawkmoth really is,” Chloe finished.</p><p>“Thank you, Chloe. This information is invaluable to all of us,” Marinette said. They looked around at each other, fear in their eyes.</p><p>“So what now?” Alya whispered out, “We have to go back to Paris. Both of your families could be in danger.” Marinette met Adrien’s eyes. He shook his head and looked at Alya, and Marinette nodded in agreement.</p><p>“No,” she said, turning back to the group. They looked at her in shock. “Adrien and I will go back to Paris, but not for long. You must stay here. We cannot have Hawkmoth finding out who you are as well. Rena, you need to have me and Adrien walking around while Ladybug and Chat Noir are seen in Paris. We won’t be gone long, but you three have to keep tabs on Lila and take her out if she becomes a threat. You must also do everything you can to figure out who Hawkmoth could be. Chloe, warm up to Lila, you’ve got stay friends with her, but don’t let her suspect you. Get her to talk, she loves herself. Alya, Nino, you need to protect Chloe, as well as the rest of the class. Talk to everyone, figure out if there are any patterns with their parents; weird absences, motives, anything like that. And do not discount anyone. Even your own parents. Ours too. Hopefully, by the end of this trip, we’ll have all the information we need to be able to take him down.” They all immediately began to argue with her.</p><p>“Dupain-Cheng are you out of you mind? I cannot work with them!”</p><p>“Do you really think that we’re just going to let you go off by yourselves? You could be killed or captured and have no one to help you!”</p><p>“Mari, your family is like my own, I will not stand over here while they could be in danger!” Their voices grew louder and louder, Marinette trying to speak to them and ending up arguing with Alya who was trying to transform to fly with her to Paris.</p><p>“Stop.” Adrien’s low voice cut through the noise. They all froze and looked at him.</p><p>“Mari’s right. You’ve got to stay here. Identities are the most important thing. Chloe, you don’t have to work with them. It would be better if you weren’t seen together at all. Nino, risk is what comes with the job. We have always known what we were getting ourselves into. And Alya, your family is just as important to us, as is Mari’s to you. You staying here keeps them safe, Marinette and I will take care of our parents, don’t worry about it. We need you three here, just for the next couple of hours. Then we’ll be together again, and hopefully more prepared for a battle. So, rest up, because you’re going to need it,” he said. A muscle was twitching in Alya’s jaw, Nino looked like he seriously wanted to argue with him, and Chloe had her arms crossed and was not looking at anyone.</p><p>“Fine.” Alya spat out, the word disgusting to her. Nino and Chloe echoed her just as reluctantly. Marinette smiled at them all.</p><p>“It’s really going to be okay. This will all be over with soon,” she said, and tightly squeezed Alya, Nino, and to her great surprise, Chloe.</p><p>“Wait, you’re leaving now??” Alya and Nino said at the same time as Adrien came around with his hugs.</p><p>“We can’t wait. We’ve got to go now,” Marinette said. Alya and Nino watched them with jaws dropped and even Chloe looked stunned as Marinette pulled out two other miraculous’ and carefully put them in her pocket. Looking at her friends distressed faces, the gravity of the situation descended on her in a moment and suddenly everything was too much. Alya made to grab Marinette's arm to try to talk her out of leaving, but Adrien met Marinette’s eyes and he quickly understood what she needed.</p><p>“B-but—” Alya stuttered, watching as Adrien walked to the door as he grabbed Marinette’s shaking hand.</p><p>“We’ll be back in a minute, I just…need to grab some stuff from across the hall. Catch up with your kwami’s,” he said.</p><p>“Me and Plagg will stay here too. We haven’t seen them for a while,” Tikki said, forcefully grabbing Plagg who yelped, and Marinette was grateful for her for giving them some much needed alone time. She smiled at the small bug and Adrien shut the door behind them.</p><p>“Shit. Shit. Shit. We are so, so totally screwed. This is a disaster,” Marinette muttered under her breath as Adrien walked into his room. He took off his dress shirt and grabbed a t-shirt to pull on instead. He paused, and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and bending down to look into her tear-filled eyes.</p><p>“It’s not a disaster. Lila’s going to see that you and I are still here when Ladybug and Chat Noir are in Paris, and that’s gonna buy us some time. We’re going to check on our parents, maybe do a little digging around, and be back before you know it. I can’t say that nothing can go wrong, but the chances of it are…not that high. Besides, we’ve got each other, and, in my experience, that’s been more than enough.” Adrien said, and Marinette nodded slowly, staring blankly at Adrien’s quite defined chest. He pulled her close to him, resting his chin on her head, and if Marinette had been any less worried about the entire situation, she probably would have combusted at the fact that her cheek was on Adrien Agreste’s bare chest.</p><p>“I’m so scared,” she whispered out softly. He held her tighter.</p><p>“So am I, and I can’t tell you that everything will be fine, but I can promise you that no matter what I will always fight by your side and do everything I can to save us.”</p><p>“Me too,” Marinette said, and leaned back to look at him in the eyes. For so long they had been right in front of each other, and so many obvious things had had to be realized for them to get to where they needed to be. And finally, when they were there, so many things were keeping them from just enjoying it. But even though the world always seemed to be against them, he had always been there for her. No matter which side of him, Adrien had never let her down. He was her partner, in every sense of the word.</p><p>“I love you. So much,” she said, tears filling her eyes. Adrien gasped slightly, and smiled, wiping the tears from her cheeks.</p><p>“I love you, too. We’re going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you or your family,” Adrien said, kissing her forehead. A small sob escaped her, and she wrapped her arms as tight as she could around him.</p><p>“Come on, my love, its time,” Adrien said, and with reluctance she pulled away from him. He pulled on a sweatshirt over a t shirt and gave Mari one of his sweatshirts as well. She was swallowed by it but burrowed inside, breathing in the smell that she loved so much. She took his hand, and they stepped back into the hall together and through the door to Alya’s room. They stood with their friends, none of them saying a word, but all with solemn, terrified faces.</p><p>“We’ll see you soon,” Marinette promised, and they all nodded. Tikki and Plagg were given their special food, and much too soon they were ready to leave. She looked at Adrien and squeezed his hand, and together they said;</p><p>“Tikki, spots on!”</p><p>“Plagg, claws out!” And they flew out of the window and into the evening sky.</p><p> </p><p>Cosmobug and Astrocat landed in a deserted section on the outskirts of Paris. They flew in through the broken window and settled softly against the dusty floor, resting their bags against the ground. Astrocat walked over to the wall and flipped a switch, and a soft glow filled the room from the string of lights along the walls. Beanbags, blankets, junk food, sodas, books and mangas were piled orderly around the space. Astrocat collapsed into the largest and fluffiest bean bag and groaned, letting his transformation fall. Plagg immediately phased into the fridge where he had his own special Camembert supply. Cosmobug fell into Adrien’s arms and let her transformation fall, and Tikki dove into the junk food stash to find her favorite cookies. Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette and held her close to him, letting her burrow into his sweatshirt.</p><p>“We should go check on our parents,” she said, her voice even, but Adrien could hear the terror inside it.</p><p>“I’ll go. You stay here and rest,” he said, knowing that if anything had happened to them, he did not want her to see it firsthand. She clenched her hands around the fabric.</p><p>“No. We do not leave each other. Ever,” she said, and the words warmed Adrien to his core. He tilted her head up gently and softly kissed her.</p><p>“Then let’s go. Together, m’lady,” he said, and they stood. It was nearly midnight in Paris, not too far past the time when they would be out for patrol. They swung out of the warehouse and along the rooves of Paris, the familiar feel and smells of the city filling up inside them. The moon shone bright overhead, lighting up the city around them. They passed by the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, and Marinette was so, so tempted to go inside, but Chat convinced her not to. They had no idea if Hawkmoth was watching, and it was just not worth the risk. They swung by the Agreste mansion, cold and dark as ever, the Cesaire’s, Lahiffes, even the Bourgeois, and everything seemed to be in order. However, they knew that no matter how good things look on the outside, one could never tell what was going on inside. Finally, after two hours, they dropped back into the warehouse.</p><p>“Don’t be so discouraged. We can check in tomorrow as soon as the bakery opens. All of Paris knows its Chat Noir’s favorite place, so it won’t be strange for us to go in there,” Adrien said, enveloping her in a hug as he pulled her back into his lap.</p><p>“But what if we’re too late? What if he already has them? What if he sends an akuma tomorrow and we’re not able to go back to America? What if he sends one just as we get back to America? What if we can’t figure out who Hawkmoth is? What if Hawkmoth is someone we’re close to?” She said, the words tumbling out of her and each question more hysterical than the last. Adrien kissed the side of her head.</p><p>“We will answer every question, but not right now. We can’t do anything right now, and what we need to do is sleep so that tomorrow we can be on top of it. So rest. If anything does happen, we’re right here. Sleep, my love,” Adrien said softly, and Plagg hit the lights. Eventually, and not without major reluctance, Marinette fell asleep in Adrien’s arms. Her body moved up and down slowly, and Adrien smiled softly down at her. He was glad she was finally able to get some rest. He watched Plagg and Tikki snuggle up together to sleep, but he knew that Plagg was just as wide awake as he. Neither of them could sleep, not when there was so much danger near them, and not when the one they loved was so vulnerable right in front of them. His mind drifted to Hawkmoth. Chloe’s words had shocked him and had settled down somewhere in the bottom of his heart, giving him unpleasant feelings. He tried to unpack it, to figure out what was bothering him so. Was it the fact that he could have met Hawkmoth and not known it? Was it the fact that he knew that one of his classmate’s worlds would soon change forever if Ladybug and Chat Noir succeeded? Or was it the fact that he suspected who Hawkmoth could be? That he was closer than he ever imagined. The dread grew stronger, the anxiety doubled, and for a moment he forgot where he was, he forgot the words that flowed out of him so easily when anyone else was in trouble, he forgot that he was not alone.</p><p>“It’s okay, shhh,” Marinette was saying, stroking her fingers through his hair. He blinked a couple times and realized that his breathing and shaking had woken her up. She wiped away a tear on his cheek that he had not realized he had shed and kissed his forehead lightly.</p><p>“M-marinette. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said, and she shook her head and held him tighter.</p><p>“I am not the only one who is allowed to panic. You’re facing just as much uncertainty and fear as I am, and you should never discount any of your feelings. You are not alone, and you’ll never be alone again. I will always be here for you,” she said, and he let the words enter into his heart, he allowed himself to believe them, and he allowed himself to release the sobs that were pent up inside him, doubling and spilling over Marinette. She held him while he shook, not saying a word but only stroking his head over and over again.</p><p>He did not know when he feel asleep, whether or not Marinette did too, but hours later when they rose to the sun streaming down on them, they knew that they really were ready to face the world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lots of unpacking here, but promise they'll be some action next chapter. Maybe some more of the gang will come back togetherrr. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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